My childhood friend is riding his bicycle from Jacksonville, Florida to Alaska
03-12-19, 06:04 AM
#51
30-40 percent of the US food supply is wasted. Dumpsters contain a lot of good food. The problem is sorting out the good stuff many not be healthy.
03-12-19, 06:26 AM
#52
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It was an interesting story, but moved way too slowly for me to want to pick it back up the following night.
The social/personal connections were interesting, but they made that too much of the story for me.
Its almost as if they actively tried to get bikes that while being the correct type on face value, were the least traditionally prepared bikes for the task too.
03-12-19, 08:37 AM
#53
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You are very likely to be asked if you have any money, credit cards, etc. Don't know how sticky they are about this, but it would be prudent to have a good answer before you are asked.
03-12-19, 08:46 AM
#54
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Maybe the guy will become the next Iohan Gueorguiev.
Bike Wanderer
He started in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and 4.5 years later has made it to Argentina.
His video's are worth watching.
-Tim-
Bike Wanderer
He started in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and 4.5 years later has made it to Argentina.
His video's are worth watching.
-Tim-
03-12-19, 11:20 PM
#55
Senior Member
Probably was the fact that he picked up a squirrel from the road that looked like it had been there for some days. I am not squeamish about meat, just unknown meat (health-wise)
03-13-19, 01:17 AM
#56
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I watched a couple of the latest videos, since he was passing through the area of central California where I grew up (and walked across the muddy Santa Maria River bed instead of being able to find the separated bike path on the bridge above him to which he had been directed).
I don't think I'd rode up the Cuesta Grade in the dark.
03-13-19, 05:22 AM
#57
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That's just wrong. Hoping it was a stunt and that he didn't really eat it.
03-13-19, 08:38 PM
#58
just another gosling
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I have a pair of twin brothers for dear friends. They rode across the US twice on $5. They still argue about who ordered the coffee. They also rode the Divide Trail north to south and then Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego, all of that on essentially no money. They dumpster dove, worked a little here and there, but mostly just rode their bikes..
Patagonia - yes those are raw ribs. Gotta eat something.
Patagonia - yes those are raw ribs. Gotta eat something.
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03-13-19, 09:48 PM
#60
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John McPhee has a true story in one of his books about a couple of ecologists in Georgia who were given the task of estimating animal populations by counting roadkill. If they found a nice one in good shape, they took it home and ate it. They gave the left-overs to their beetles, fed the beetles to their snakes and the snakes to their falcon. Real ecologists. My wife and I still shout out "DOR!" (dead on road). We don't eat meat though, so we're not tempted. On bike rides I mostly find wrenches, sockets, knives, that kind of thing.
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03-14-19, 12:21 AM
#61
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He's got that personality/vibe that people just want to help.
I'll be honest, I'm really enjoying these videos.
Anybody got a comment on him and the flats? Wonder if my Schwalbe Marathons will stand up better than what he's using..
I'll be honest, I'm really enjoying these videos.
Anybody got a comment on him and the flats? Wonder if my Schwalbe Marathons will stand up better than what he's using..
03-14-19, 09:12 AM
#62
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Every person has a right to pursue their happiness and live their own life as they want to live it so long it doesn’t harm others and/or trample the rights of others pursuit of their own “happiness”
I wish him well and safe travels and if I see him along the way I just may share half my Clif Bar with him (after I bite off the first half)
I wish him well and safe travels and if I see him along the way I just may share half my Clif Bar with him (after I bite off the first half)
03-14-19, 05:00 PM
#64
Senior Member
I cycled with a couple of Mexican guys in Baja who were traveling with no money. They would just tell people their story, that they were trying to get from one part of Mexico to another, and ask if they could spare anything. If people couldn't, or didn't want to, they said no and my friends moved on to. No big deal on either side. One of them was carrying a traditional drum, and would busk for coins when they were in a town big enough where that would work. Farther south I met loads of South Americans traveling very cheaply as well, some of them busking, some of them making and selling bracelets, some of them working cash jobs for a short time before moving on. It's much more common in these places for people to travel like this, where in America we often have this kind of visceral negative reaction to it. If you're not making a nuisance of yourself, and people are willing to help you out, I have no problem with it.
03-14-19, 10:07 PM
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Florida to Alaska
Cool. If he makes it up here to Alaska tell him to contact rollingthru for a hot shower and a place to stay! I’m an old guy but I can still drink beer...
it it took my wife and I $6,000 dollars to go one way across the U.S. Met one touring dude that sleeps in cemeteries to save money. These types of bicycle touring people are my heroes!!! More power to em.
it it took my wife and I $6,000 dollars to go one way across the U.S. Met one touring dude that sleeps in cemeteries to save money. These types of bicycle touring people are my heroes!!! More power to em.
Last edited by Rollingthru; 03-16-19 at 04:55 PM.
03-28-19, 02:04 PM
#67
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So, he got to Santa Cruz, picked up some construction work, and with the extra cash, managed to buy some beers, get drunk, arrested, lose the job, and lose his bike to the SCPD for three days.
He's moved on, past the riding past the Golden Gate bridge in his most recent video.
He's moved on, past the riding past the Golden Gate bridge in his most recent video.
03-29-19, 05:37 AM
#68
03-29-19, 09:30 AM
#69
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Exactly. I'm living on disability (SSDI, the one for people who get hurt at work, not a "crazy check", lol), and I've never panhandled. I've eaten at soup kitchens and missions a few times, but mostly just live within my means. Some folks just can't figure that part out. 🙄
03-30-19, 09:55 PM
#70
Senior Member
Watched the drunk video. The people at the store where he was disturbing the peace gave him many warnings. In vino, veritas.
I suppose the cops in Northern California have had it up to here with that kind of act.
Maybe he'll be happy when he reaches his stoner Mecca, Garberville.
I suppose the cops in Northern California have had it up to here with that kind of act.
Maybe he'll be happy when he reaches his stoner Mecca, Garberville.
03-31-19, 01:09 AM
#71
Senior Member
Pursue happiness...Sure, but begging, panhandling, bumming off others, or a relying patrons
, whatever you want to call it to pay ones way is not one of life’s finer attributes. (Proper planning prevents piss poor performance). If he is able bodied enough to pedal, maybe he can work like the rest of us and save $$$$, and maybe then pursue his cycling dreams. There is just no free stuff.
With no money or savings it appears to be a very very foolish endeavor and likely a short trip that won’t end well.
Me thinks Wes the Wizard is going get seriously schooled if he rides the Alcan highway, it can be very brutal.
, whatever you want to call it to pay ones way is not one of life’s finer attributes. (Proper planning prevents piss poor performance). If he is able bodied enough to pedal, maybe he can work like the rest of us and save $$$$, and maybe then pursue his cycling dreams. There is just no free stuff.With no money or savings it appears to be a very very foolish endeavor and likely a short trip that won’t end well.
Me thinks Wes the Wizard is going get seriously schooled if he rides the Alcan highway, it can be very brutal.
Last edited by Patriot1; 03-31-19 at 01:27 AM.
03-31-19, 08:00 AM
#72
Senior Member
Any respect I had for the guy just went out the window. Public drunkenness and drug consumption, arrest and jail time? Accepting rides from friends? Sorry, but this is looking more like a homeless person leaching off the good will of others. Good luck with the rest of the trip. The hard part is coming up. Hopefully his equipment is up to the task. Hopefully his plan succeeds. But at this point, I’d put my money on failure. Sure, he’ll get to Alaska, but probably in the back of a pickup truck.
03-31-19, 11:12 AM
#73
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+1. And on top of all it is the self-indulgence and self-aggrandizement.
03-31-19, 03:13 PM
#75
Senior Member
Maybe he meant self-absorption. It’s a bit over the top. How many people does he tell his “story” to to get a handout?